ShotOver
10-27-2003, 03:17 AM
The killing of three Israeli soldiers in their barracks while protecting a Jewish settlement in the northern Gaza Strip triggered a chorus of demands for such posts to be evacuated.
The deaths of the soldiers, including two women, raised to nine the number Israeli military members killed while defending the isolated Netzarim settlement in the three years of Palestinian uprising.
Israel struck back by demolishing three apartment blocks near Netzarim which were said to have been used by Palestinian militants to spy on troops inside the barracks.
But many politicians and commentators believe the government can no longer justify tasking hundreds of troops to defend a mere 65 families in such an exposed position.
Although Israeli military officials will not confirm how many troops protect Netzarim at any one time, it is understood at least one infantry battalion guards the settlement along with a tank company.
The situation is echoed in the West Bank town of Hebron, where about 1,200 Israeli soldiers and police protect 600 settlers surrounded by 120,000 hostile Palestinians in an enclave which includes the Tomb of the Patriarchs, holy to both Jews and Muslims.
Writing in the top-selling Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot, Yael Gwurtz said Ariel Sharon's government must ultimately concede the futility of seeking to defend such settlements.
"The frustration with the futility of the IDF's (Israeli Defence Force's) battle against terror has converged with the mounting anger about the cheapness of soldiers' lives and their needless deaths while defending isolated settlements," she said.
"Sooner or later ... Ariel Sharon is going to have to say something. No more vague promises or veiled threats, but rather, a declaration about something defined -- such as the evacuation of Netzarim and its sisters."
Ran Cohen, an MP for the left-wing opposition Meretz party, said that the overwhelming majority of Israelis were against the defence of such isolated posts which only served to inflame Palestinian anger.
"Sharon and Likud are in a very little minority. They want to keep this concentration of ideological reasons," he told AFP.
"We have to evacuate all these settlements which are destroying the security situation. It's crazy for these settlements to continue."
But unease over the high cost of defending settlements deep inside the occupied territories is not confined to the opposition ranks.
Justice Minister Tommy Lapid, the leader of the centrist Shinui party which forms part of Sharon's coalition government, also told fellow cabinet ministers it was time for a rethink.
"We must not award a prize to violence, but the time has come for the government to hold a discussion on the future of Netzarim," he was quoted as saying by the Haaretz daily's website.
"Is it logical that a battalion of soldiers should guard one settlement where just 60 families live?"
But Haaretz said Sharon and Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz have ruled out further debate, believing the army needs to probe the incident and draw its own conclusions.
Yuval Steinitz, chairman of parliament's foreign affairs and defence select committee, said that evacuating Netzarim would serve to offer victory on a plate to the Palestinians.
"An evacuation is exactly what the Palestinian terrorist organisations would hope to achieve," he told AFP.
Steinitz, a member of Sharon's Likud party, denied that the latest killings demonstrated that it was impractical to defend isolated outposts.
"Palestinian terrorists have succeeded in the past in infiltrating into Israel proper. It's an unfortunate fact (of life)," he added.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/World/story_52690.asp
Sorry if this news is old, but it just came up on that site. Thought some of you may be interesterd.
The deaths of the soldiers, including two women, raised to nine the number Israeli military members killed while defending the isolated Netzarim settlement in the three years of Palestinian uprising.
Israel struck back by demolishing three apartment blocks near Netzarim which were said to have been used by Palestinian militants to spy on troops inside the barracks.
But many politicians and commentators believe the government can no longer justify tasking hundreds of troops to defend a mere 65 families in such an exposed position.
Although Israeli military officials will not confirm how many troops protect Netzarim at any one time, it is understood at least one infantry battalion guards the settlement along with a tank company.
The situation is echoed in the West Bank town of Hebron, where about 1,200 Israeli soldiers and police protect 600 settlers surrounded by 120,000 hostile Palestinians in an enclave which includes the Tomb of the Patriarchs, holy to both Jews and Muslims.
Writing in the top-selling Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot, Yael Gwurtz said Ariel Sharon's government must ultimately concede the futility of seeking to defend such settlements.
"The frustration with the futility of the IDF's (Israeli Defence Force's) battle against terror has converged with the mounting anger about the cheapness of soldiers' lives and their needless deaths while defending isolated settlements," she said.
"Sooner or later ... Ariel Sharon is going to have to say something. No more vague promises or veiled threats, but rather, a declaration about something defined -- such as the evacuation of Netzarim and its sisters."
Ran Cohen, an MP for the left-wing opposition Meretz party, said that the overwhelming majority of Israelis were against the defence of such isolated posts which only served to inflame Palestinian anger.
"Sharon and Likud are in a very little minority. They want to keep this concentration of ideological reasons," he told AFP.
"We have to evacuate all these settlements which are destroying the security situation. It's crazy for these settlements to continue."
But unease over the high cost of defending settlements deep inside the occupied territories is not confined to the opposition ranks.
Justice Minister Tommy Lapid, the leader of the centrist Shinui party which forms part of Sharon's coalition government, also told fellow cabinet ministers it was time for a rethink.
"We must not award a prize to violence, but the time has come for the government to hold a discussion on the future of Netzarim," he was quoted as saying by the Haaretz daily's website.
"Is it logical that a battalion of soldiers should guard one settlement where just 60 families live?"
But Haaretz said Sharon and Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz have ruled out further debate, believing the army needs to probe the incident and draw its own conclusions.
Yuval Steinitz, chairman of parliament's foreign affairs and defence select committee, said that evacuating Netzarim would serve to offer victory on a plate to the Palestinians.
"An evacuation is exactly what the Palestinian terrorist organisations would hope to achieve," he told AFP.
Steinitz, a member of Sharon's Likud party, denied that the latest killings demonstrated that it was impractical to defend isolated outposts.
"Palestinian terrorists have succeeded in the past in infiltrating into Israel proper. It's an unfortunate fact (of life)," he added.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/World/story_52690.asp
Sorry if this news is old, but it just came up on that site. Thought some of you may be interesterd.